1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to traffic channelizing devices for use in guiding and directing normal vehicle traffic around road and highway construction sites and the like and, more particularly, to ballast devices for such traffic channelizing devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Traffic channelizing devices have been configured of a variety of different shapes and materials. A typical traffic channelizing device may comprise a hollow drum made of a relatively lightweight plastic material, which will not cause damage to a vehicle if the vehicle should accidentally strike the drum. Since these hollow plastic drums are relatively light in weight, a ballast is used with each plastic drum to prevent the drum from being inadvertently blown over or moved about by the wind and/or air blasts produced by passing vehicles.
Although sandbags have been used in the prior art as ballasts, these sandbags have several drawbacks. Many applications require at least two of these sandbags to be placed within, on, or against the base of the plastic drum to hold the drum in place. Each sandbag may weigh between 35 to 50 pounds. The sandbags must first be filled, and then transported and positioned in place within, on, or against the external base or flange of the drum at the job site. This task is labor intensive and significantly adds to the time, labor, and space requirements for setting up the drums. The sandbags are seldom filled to consistent weights, and the amount of sand used for ballasting often will be either insufficient or excessive. Sandbags are also susceptible to breakage and the potential danger of loose sand on the roadway. It has been found that sand on a dry driving pavement reduces the coefficient of friction between a tire and the road surface, which results in increasing emergency deceleration distances.
Sand-filled plastic bases like that disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,204 to Kulp et al., as well as sandbags used with plastic bases are also commonly used to ballast channelizer drums. While the sand-filled plastic base is highly suitable for many applications, other uses may require a different ballast weight or a lower cost alternative. Furthermore, the use of sandbags in conjunction with plastic bases presents the same difficulty as when the sandbags are used directly on or against an external flange or base of the drum.
Some traffic channelizing devices in the form of detachable, two-piece channelizers and traffic cones are well known in the art. These devices store a pre-selected volume and weight of ballast therein. Such a two-piece traffic channelizer permanently stores ballast in the form of a cast iron ring in the base element or, alternatively, the base is configured with an internal, upturned flange for storing ballast in the form of concrete or a particular material such as sand.
Other ballasting systems have used the side wall of a worn out steel belted radial tubeless truck tire for holding a drum or cone in an upright position. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,280 to David A. Cowan, the diameter of the sidewall is large enough to be inserted over the top of the drum, but is small enough to rest around the lower flange portion of the drum. The installation of the sidewall ballast is difficult, because the sidewall must be raised over the top of the drum and then dropped over and around the drum so that the sidewall rests on the bottom large-diameter flange portion of the drum. Because of its weight and bulk, this is an awkward procedure, and often, as the sidewall drops over the drum, portions of its inner diameter contact the reflective sheeting bands adhered to the outer circumference of the drum, and scuff and mark them with black streaks. Over time, this scuffing diminishes the effectiveness of the sheeting, and destroys its appearance. Additionally, channelizing drums of the type employed in such systems typically provide for the mounting of a flashing yellow warning light on the top thereof, in order to ensure additional safety at night or in inclement weather. Such a light must be mounted on the side of the drum closest to the traffic lane, in order to accurately mark the lane and to prevent drum impacts by disoriented drivers. However, the ballasting arrangement disclosed in the aforementioned Cowan patent has been found in practice to be problematic when such lighting is employed, because the passage of large vehicles at relatively high speeds creates an unequal moment arm on the drum, due to the light, which tends to cause the drum to rotate within the ballasting ring. This rotation occurs because the effective diameter of the drum is substantially smaller than that of the ballasting ring, creating a loose fit. Once these drums have rotated over time, to various degrees, the flashing lights, being oriented at differing angles of rotation on each of the drums, no longer effectively mark the traffic lanes, and must be reset to their proper orientation by a work crew.
Thus, none of the prior art external ballasting systems for channelizing drums have implemented a rubber stabilizing base, preferably constructed of a tire sidewall, which can be installed with relative ease, that minimizes damage to the reflective sheeting on the drum and eliminates rotation of the drum when a flashing light is installed, and that can furthermore efficiently and effectively ballast a traffic channelizing device in an upright position in all wind and traffic conditions.